E-mail, Feeds, 'n' Stuff

Monday, April 3, 2006

The dime has been dropped

Portland officials today called in the city's police department to investigate potential fraud in the city's new "voter-owned elections" system -- taxpayer financing of political campaigns. I can't find the official announcement anywhere, but stories are here and here.

So in the end, with three races eligible for the tax funding, only four candidates turned in the paperwork to qualify, and now two of their campaigns are under investigation for apparent falsification of signatures. Of the other two, one is the incumbent who's the architect of the system.

Somehow I'm not smelling that fresh air we were supposed to be getting out of all this.

Somehow I'm not smelling that fresh air we were supposed to be getting out of all this.

Which would have been the same thing some people (Phil Stanford, I'm staring at you) would have said if the actual predictions of opponents had come true, and we had a glut of wingnut stunt candidates (Phil Stanford, I"m staring at you) all getting public money. So, whatever. ;)

bIX: the wingnuts will be in the next election cycle. Word of VOE is still trickling out to the hardcore wingnut community. Many of them are still awaiting parole, expiration on the statute of limitations, maintenance dosages, etc.

I think I should attribute the first quote (above) in its accurate entirety:

But among pols of the old school, the saying was, "If you can't take their money, drink their whiskey, screw their women and vote against 'em anyway, you don't belong in the Legislature."

Sorry for the threadjack. Two thing that always strike me about about Mandate Media: (1) their websites look are virtually identical in layout, and (2) Mandate's logo looks suspiciously like John "Hates Celery" Kerry rockin' the mike. As the kids say, check it: http://tinyurl.com/p37re

i think that Saltzman is going to face a much tougher race than if VOE money hadn't been available to candidate Fritz. i'm not saying she couldn't have raised money without it, but it certainly has helped to even the odds and it's made a more interesting (and competitive) race.

One classic twist in the Clean Elections in Maine: The fund for the potential candidates was raided by politicians for other budget matters, and now there is concern about whether they'll pay the money back.

We have been given the opportunity to evaluate the capacity of the candidates running under Voter Owned Elections to understand, manage and operate a narrowly defined set of regulations, including their abilitiy to evaluate and supervise their associates.

It is also an opportunity to evaluate VOE. This means we have to be careful to distinguish between its design issues and flaws in its implementation.

Any new regulation requires an adjustment period, but it also requires an earnest and competent effort by the City to implement and police it properly. The design is, on paper, unforgiving of error or fraud on the part of a candidate attempting to qualify, as any bad signature disqualifies that candidate.

Alas, the Cityís poor initial implementation, as evidenced by the lack of a protocol for recovering misappropriated funds after their disbursal (setting aside the apparent unwillingness to take responsibility to do so), subverts the regulatory intent. It also gives ammunition to critics and cynics calling for an end to the discussion of how to improve the regulation, including whether the rules are too unforgiving of innocent error.

If we are ever to reclaim the electoral process from the moneyed interests, it is essential that the review of VOE results in a stronger version of reform, and not in its abandonment.

I would HAVE to guess they'll give up the funds if wrongdoing is found or if public opinion gets too hot.

A nice thought. But what of the fees already paid to Vladimir Golovan? I'll be very curious to see how big those checks were and whether the city can recoup those costs. What do you want to bet Boyles and Tate will be on the hook and Vlad skates? Tony Uncle Johnny would be proud.

Gosh, you're right. Try a system once and declare judgement on it. I don't know how many people (esp. women) would have sex again after their first time, which probably wasn't very enjoyable. At least, most people think that some things get better with practice and time.

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 45
At this date last year: 117
Total run in 2016: 155
In 2015: 271
In 2014: 401
In 2013: 257
In 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269